New skirmishing over town houses
BLOOMINGDALE
Dozens of environmental and government entities are urging state rejection of a developer's claim that putting a 360-unit town house complex on Federal Hill will only minimally affect the area's drainage.
The steep and rocky mountain, north of Route 23 and west of Route 287, is on the eastern rim of the state's Highlands region. That region generates water for millions of state residents.
The groups argue that unless the state enforces its drainage laws, the D.R. Horton project, as proposed, would open the door for other such development throughout the Highlands.
They assert that the Texas-based developer is flouting the state's Stormwater Management Rules and that the development could worsen flooding beneath the mountain tract.
Specifically, the groups challenge Horton's storm water management report, completed in 2005 by engineering firm Schoor DePalma of Manalapan. The report said the proposed project "will have no significant detrimental impact on the storm water discharge" in accordance with state requirements.
The letter also disputes the concurring assessment of the Planning Board engineer about Horton's report, and urged testing by an outside expert.
Representatives of D.R. Horton did not return calls for comment. Schoor DePalma declined to comment.
Planning Board engineer William Gregor said that he had conducted site and field surveys within the past five months with Horton's engineers. In his engineering opinion, he said, Horton's claims were correct.
A spokeswoman for the state DEP confirmed that the agency had received the letter last week and was working on a response.
The development on the mountain is the result of a "builder's remedy" lawsuit by Horton in 2005. It was based on the borough's failure to meet state Supreme Court mandates by planning for more low- and moderate-income housing.
In February, state Superior Court Judge Burrell Humphreys ordered that the borough craft a rezoning ordinance allowing Horton to build as a way to meet the housing obligation.
This month, the Borough Council adopted a rezoning ordinance allowing construction of the complex on 32 acres of the 180-acre Meer Tract on Federal Hill. Of the 360 units, 72 would be set aside for low- to moderate-income residents.
Of the request for more testing, Borough Attorney Joseph MacMahon said the borough had no choice but to follow the court's order "that there should be no unnecessary cost-generating measures, particularly anything that may cause delays in final approval of the affordable housing development."
The letter by the environmental groups criticized the methods, scope, conclusions and approach taken in the analysis by Horton's engineering firm
Entities
contesting storm water management findings submitted
by developer D.R. Horton for Federal Hill include:
• Pequannock River Coalition; Skylands
Clean; New Jersey Sierra Club; New Jersey
Environmental Federation; N.J. State Federation of
Sportsmen's Clubs; New Jersey State Council Trout
Unlimited; Passaic River Coalition; N.J. Highlands
Coalition; New Jersey Audubon Society; NY-NJ Trail
Conference; Wanaque REACH; Highlands Coalition;
Pompton Lakes.
• Also, Passaic County Open Space and
Farmland Preservation Trust Fund Advisory Council;
Hackensack Riverkeeper Inc.; New Jersey Conservation
Foundation; Ramapo River Watershed Intermunicipal
Council; Pompton Lakes Environmental Protection
Committee; Bergen SWAN; Friends of the Wallkill River
National Wildlife Refuge; South Jersey Land and Water
Trust; Musconetcong Mountain Conservancy.
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The objectors |
